Soccer

Reading, QPR relegated from EPL after drawing

READING, England (AP)

Reading and Queens Park Rangers became the first teams to be
relegated from the English Premier League this season after they
drew 0-0 on Sunday.

Both teams needed a win to keep a slim hope alive of overtaking
17th-place Aston Villa, but neither side managed to create many
clear-cut chances in a game that featured little creativity or
entertainment value.

QPR is leaving the topflight after two years, having stayed up
on the last day of last season.

''Next year it will be very difficult to get promoted, there are
some good teams,'' QPR manager Harry Redknapp said. ''For us to get
promoted we have to come back in preseason and get super fit. The
Championship is Saturday, midweek.

''It you are not fit enough you won't survive, you won't get out
of that league. The players that are here have to work so hard and
want to get super fit to compete next year.''

QPR have spent heavily since owner Tony Fernandes' takeover in
2011, and Redknapp is hopeful the Malaysian's investment will still
be rewarded.

''I will get to see him this week and we will have some meetings
and talk about things going forward, with the team with the
players,'' Redknapp told Sky Sports TV. ''I have said many times
they are good people, so I would love to see them get back in the
Premier league and build a team that will stay there next
time.''

Reading is making an instant return to the second tier.

''I have told the players to bottle up the feeling as it is
never nice to get relegated, and make sure they never feel that way
again,'' Nigel Adkins, who was hired as Reading manager last month,
told the BBC. ''We must now build for the future and learn the
lessons well from this season. We have to regroup and put ourselves
in a position to challenge to get back into the Premier League. For
any new promoted team, it is a challenge to stay up. The Premier
League is a ruthless division.''

Wigan currently occupies the third spot in the relegation zone,
and is two points from safety.

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